Hundreds of British Tamils gathered in Parliament Square and Trafalgar Square earlier today to mark the 14th anniversary of the Tamil genocide which saw the massacre of tens of thousands of Tamils by Sri Lanka's armed forces. 

Protesters held placards detailing the final days of the armed conflict where tens of thousands of Tamils were trapped in the No Fire Zones and subjected to heavy shelling by the Sri Lankan government.

Wiley Nickel, called on the members of the House of Representatives to "observe Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day" and acknowledge the "pain and suffering endured by the Tamil people on the Island" of Sri Lanka. 

The representative for North Carolina speaking in the House on 17 May called on the speaker, as the "first U.S legislator to officially acknowledge the Tamil Genocide in Sri Lanka"  to ensure that the "voices of the survivors are heard to foster healing, justice and reconciliation". 

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has released a statement marking Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day and commemorating the lives lost.

In his statement, Prime Minister Trudeau reflected on the “Tens of thousands of Tamils lost their lives, including at the massacre in Mullivaikal, with many more missing, injured, or displaced. Our thoughts are with the victims, survivors, and their loved ones, who continue to live with the pain caused by this senseless violence."

The Working Group of Young Socialists in the Social Democratic Party of Germany, (Jungsozialistinnen und Jungsozialisten in der SPD) also known as Jusos, expressed its solidarity with the hundreds of thousands of Tamil victims who were massacred during the final stage of the armed conflict between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan state in May 2009.

In its social media post, Jusos highlighted the fact that over 10,000 Tamil civilians were steered into government-declared “No Fire Zones” in the coastal area of Mullivaikkal, where they were attacked and killed by repeated shelling.

Memorials were held in Bern, Switzerland on 17 May as the Tamil nation mourns the genocide that took place in Mullivaikkal 14 years ago. 

Speeches in German, French, Italian and Tamil were delivered as attendees were served Mullivaikkal Kanji, to commemorate the massacres which took place during the final stages of the armed conflict. 

On May 18th, Tamil political parties came together in Dhanushkodi, Tamil Nadu to commemorate the lives lost during the final stages of the war in 2009, the peak of the genocide coming with the Mullivaikkal massacres. The remembrance event drew a diverse crowd, including children, who participated in honouring those who perished.

Marking the 14th Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day, Jaffna-based think-tank Adayaalam Centre for Policy Research (ACPR) highlighted the resilience demonstrated by Tamil victim-survivor communities despite the 'full force of the state against them'. 

In a poignant display of remembrance and demand for justice, the families of the forcibly disappeared in Vavuniya district observed the final day of the Tamil Genocide Remembrance week.

These families, who have been protesting for accountability for over 2000 days continuously, gathered to commemorate the lives lost during the final days of the armed conflict.

US Congresswoman Deborah Ross (NC) and US Congressman Bill Johnson (OH) introduced a bipartisan Resolution today calling for a referendum for Eelam Tamils to be “democratically and equitably represented” as well as a “lasting peaceful political solution”. 

The Resolution comes as the Tamil nation marks 14 years since the massacre at Mullivaikkal where Sri Lanka’s forces killed tens of thousands of Tamils in the final weeks of the armed conflict. 

The Tamil National Green Organisation served Mullivaikkal kanji outside its head office in Jaffna today.